Rear, from left, New Haven Police Department District Manager and K-9 Supervisor Sgt. Renee Dominguez; Ken Mackenzie and Dana MacKenzie of MacKenzie Machine Inc. of New Haven; NHPD dispatchers of Team 911 Cathy ... more

Photo: Peter Hvizdak — New Haven Register

New Haven police dogs to get vests, thanks to help from some friends

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NEW HAVEN >> Cathy Sargent expected it to take six weeks to raise enough money to outfit police dogs Atos and Magnum with bullet- and stab-resistant vests.

It took two days.

Sargent, chairwoman of New Haven-based community service outfit Team 911, took notice of media coverage in January when it was announced that two New Haven police dogs — German shepherds named Ax and Zo — were slated to receive bullet- and stab resistant vests.

Sargent was aware of two other police dogs in need of the same gear, and decided to start a GoFundMe page as well as a private credit union fund for that money.

Sargent “saw the story and took the initiative to say this is a (Team) 911 problem. What can we do about that?” said Michael Briscoe, director of public safety communications for the city.

The New Haven Police Department has eight dogs and eight handlers in its K-9 Unit, five who work in both patrol and narcotics. One of those five already has a vest. Two others — Ax and Zo — had vests fitted and paid for and are waiting for them to arrive. The final two dogs, Magnum and Atos, were the target of Team 911’s fundraising efforts.

“I’m an animal lover so it definitely touched me,” Sargent said.

The plan was to raise enough money to purchase the two $1,050 vests through Vested Interest In K9s Inc.’s website. Vested Interest, a nonprofit that aims to provide bullet and stab protective vests to police dogs across the country, allows people to pay online to provide vests to a particular state, police department or dog.

Sargent created the GoFundMe on Jan. 12 and set the goal at $2,100. However, as the money began to come in, new donors entered the picture.

After reading the story of Ax and Zo, Dana and Ken MacKenzie, owners of MacKenzie Machine Inc., reached out to the Police Department because they wanted to purchase vests for both the remaining dogs. They spoke to Sgt. Renee Dominguez, who, along with her duties as the manager of the Westville/West Hills policing district, supervises the department’s K-9 Unit. Dominguez put them in touch with Sargent.

“In the amount of time that (Dana MacKenzie) took to call Cathy, an anonymous donor donated in Magnum’s behalf,” Dominguez said. “So, they were still gracious enough to say ‘we’ll use that for another dog.’”

The MacKenzies kept their promise and donated two vests — one personally and one on behalf of the company — and will pay for Atos’ vest and one vest for a Connecticut State Police trooper’s dog.

“It’s very important to protect the officers and do what we can because they protect us 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Ken MacKenzie said.

With the vests purchased, Sargent placed the roughly $1,500 raised via the GoFundMe, and $1,500 raised through cash and check contributions into the account Team 911 had earmarked for the K-9 Unit, which is called the “NHPD K9 Unit Equipment Fund.” This money can be accessed by the unit for equipment such as leashes, reward toys and training gear as needed.

Officer Dave Stratton, who is partnered with Atos, stressed the importance of the bullet- and stab-resistant vests.

“There are dogs that are getting shot and stabbed (nationwide) basically every week. So, it’s important for these dogs to have it,” said Stratton. “Most of the time, they aren’t going to wear it in the car but if we’re going to put them in a serious situation where someone might harm them, we can put it on them and know that they’re that much more safe.”

The vests weigh 4 to 5 pounds and have a 5-year warranty, according to a release from the Police Department. The vests cover the midsection and most vital organs of the animal. Dogs are not fitted for the vests until they are at least 20 months old, a representative from Vested Interest said, because they’ve grown to their full size or close to it by then.

Vest donations to any state or local canine unit, or a particular police dog, can be made at Vested Interest’s website, vik9s.org.

Reach Ryan Flynn at 203-680-9962. Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the cost of the vests and the age of the dogs when they are fitted for the vests.